The # 1 Book for this Easter: The Cross is Not Enough!

I want to announce what I think is the # 1 book for this Easter. It is:

Ross Clifford & Philip Johnson
The Cross is Not Enough: Living as Witnesses to the Resurrection
Grand Rapids, MI: Baker, 2012.
Available at Amazon.com

I love the book’s provocative title! But it’s true, if Jesus died and stayed dead, his death could not atone, redeem, or justify. He’d be a great martyr, but an impotent savior. Too many Christians (and preachers !!) treat Easter Sunday like it’s the icing on the cake after the “real stuff” that happened on Good Friday. Clifford and Johnson urge us to make the resurrection of Jesus central to our message, ministry, and mission.

I am admittedly biased, Ross Clifford is an Aussie, and I did write a blurb for this book:

Christians say that they believe in the cross and the resurrection, but sadly many Christians focus almost exclusively on the cross and regard the resurrection as an appendix that God tacked on to prove that Jesus died for their sins. In this book, Ross Clifford and Philip Johnson show that many Christians are operating with a half-told Easter story. Contrary to popular notions, they explain how the Christian faith is a resurrection faith in the risen Lord. Without the resurrection, Jesus’ death is martyrdom not an atonement, without resurrection Jesus is just another dead Jew not the Lord of Glory – the cross derives its meaning and power from the empty tomb. Clifford and Johnson describe what it means to have an authentic resurrection faith that drives theology, missions, spirituality, thinking about culture, and church life. If you want to know what to tell your church on Easter Sunday beyond the annual droning of “well, there really is life after death, ain’t that nice,” if you want to know how to be “children of the resurrection” as Jesus said, then for the love of Martha, read this book!

I’ve read a lot of books on the resurrection, but I’ve really enjoyed this one. In fact, their 55 theses on resurrection faith (pp. 275-78) is worth the price of the book alone. Many tips for preachers here too.